Yashpal Sharma, former India cricketer and deposed national selector, has criticized Greg Chappell for targeting players he did not like.”Chappell wants [Sourav] Ganguly out while [Virender] Sehwag, Harbhajan [Singh] and Zaheer [Khan] are the other targets in his mind,” said Sharma, who was ousted from the selection committee last week. “Chappell questioned my integrity and his behaviour shocked me. He also alleged that I was [Jagmohan] Dalmiya’s man. I felt very bad because I have played with honour for my country and he has no right to question my credentials,”Sharma, a member of the team that won the 1983 World Cup in England, had reportedly pushed for Ganguly’s inclusion in the team for the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka. Ganguly was earlier dropped from the one-day side due to poor form, an elbow injury and a damaging public spat with Chappell.Sharma, Pranob Roy and Gopal Sharma were last week removed from the national selection panel after Sharad Pawar wrested control of the board. They were replaced by Bhupinder Singh, Ranjib Biswal and Sanjay Jagdale, none of whom have played Test cricket.Sharma played 37 Tests for India during the 1970s and 1980s, scoring 1,606 runs with two centuries. He also figured in 42 one-dayers in which he aggregated 883 runs.

Prior to South Africa’s morale-boosting win at Brisbane on Sunday, Bob Simpson, the former Australia coach, launched an attack on Graeme Smith, accusing him of having a wandering mind.”Smith has shown he wants to be aggressive, but I would like this to be more with his bat and less with his mouth,” Simpson said in his column in Indian magazine .”His bid to boost the confidence of his team with ill-advised words is not working and will not work. All of his time should be spent getting the most out of his players and himself. At present his mind is wandering too much … to be out four times in a row to tactics devised to get him in such a manner is not acceptable and shows to me a mind that is not relaxed and concentrating on every ball.”Although Smith fell for 12 on Sunday, he did lead his team to an excellent victory despite the best efforts of Australia’s fieldsmen. Andrew Symonds completed a slick run-out, and Michael Hussey sprinted about 15 metres to take an outstanding diving catch that nearly turned the game Australia’s way. The South African fielding has also annoyed Simpson, who described it as “just terrible”.”Their ground fielding has lacked security and concentration and enthusiasm,” he said. “This is a comparatively young team and I am amazed at the number of simple errors that are being made and the lack of pride being expressed.”History, and I am sure the modern computer, would show that first slip takes the most catches followed by the second and the third slips. Yet, because other countries are using spread slips, though without much or perhaps any success, Smith is being influenced by it without understanding the law of averages. I don’t know who is helping the South Africans with their fielding, but whoever is doing so should examine why so many catches are being spilt.”

The former South African fast bowler, Allan Donald, has emerged as the favourite to replace Troy Cooley as England’s fast bowling coach, according to newspaper. Applications for the position don’t close for another six days, but Donald has moved ahead of the other candidates, who include Kevin Shine, the Somerset academy boss.Donald would bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role, although he would be coming from the opposite end of the playing spectrum to Cooley, who has been appointed to the same role with Australia. Cooley, whose last tasks will be on tour in India, had a limited first-class career with Tasmania before specialising in biomechanics and becoming the most highly respected bowling coach in the world.Donald played 72 Tests for South Africa, taking 330 wickets, and formed one of the most powerful new-ball attacks with Shaun Pollock. He also led the Warwickshire attack during the late 80s and for large parts the 90s, and was the spearhead when they retained the County Championship in 1995.”I am ambitious to coach international players but I can’t see that happening in South Africa,” Donald told the .Since retiring from international cricket in 2003 he has worked with Warwickshire, guiding their young seam bowlers and having a major role with the second team. If Donald is appointed to the England role he will work with the next generation of fast bowlers, at the ECB Academy in Loughborough, as well as the Test attack.The ECB are also considering appointing a replacement team analyst and assistant coach for the India tour, following the departure of Tim Boon to Leicestershire. Initially they were not going to fill the position until the summer, but now Mark Garaway, the Somerset coach, and Paul Farbrace, who works with the Kent Academy, are in line for the role.

ScorecardPakistan chose efficiency over style on Saturday as they booked their place in the semi-finals with a straightforward win over Zimbabwe.Pakistan’s bowlers, so impressive in Friday’s defeat of New Zealand, impressed again to dismiss Zimbabwe for just 181, before knocking off the total in 48 overs. Anwer Ali Khan, whose 5 for 34 wrecked New Zealand, took 3 for 25 while his opening partner Jamshaid Ahmed captured 2 for 42 and Riaz Khail picked up 4 for 29.Zimbabwe’s innings fell into several distinct phases. First there was an early struggle as they limped to 31 for 3 in the face of an onslaught from Anwer Ali Khan and Jamshaid Ahmed. Then Donald ‘Kuda’ Samunderu (46) and Keegan Meth (33) pulled things around with a fourth wicket stand of 65 before another cluster of wickets fell and Zimbabwe slipped to 136 for 8.That collapse forced Sean Williams’ side to draft in their Supersub, Friday Kasteni, in place of opening bowler Ian Nicolson. Kasteni’s contribution in getting his side to a reasonably useful score was vital. Batting at number nine, he made 22 crucial runs and, together with Ronald Benade (18) the pair added 39, the second highest stand of the innings. Samunderu, Meth and Kasteni were the only players to reach 20 for Zimbabwe but 23 extras, including 14 wides, boosted their total which, inevitably, was no match for Pakistan.Ibrahim Mohammed (39) and Rameez Raja (39) both made solid top-order contributions to set Pakistan on their way before Riaz Kail (26 not out) and captain Safaraz Ahmed (22 not out) finished the match off with an unbroken partnership of 36.”I did not think there was much between the teams but I was definitely impressed by Pakistan’s fast bowling,” Zimbabwe’s captain, Sean Williams, said. “We kept them out there chasing the target for 48 overs but we just did not get enough runs and our top order has failed in every game.”Although Pakistan took their time in their run-chase, they were wary of a replicating the collapse they suffered against Bangladesh earlier in the tournament.”We did not want to make the same mistake we did against Bangladesh (when Pakistan collapsed) so we were happy to take as long as we had to in order to score the runs,” said Pakistan coach Mansoor Rana.Mansoor, whose team now face a rampant Australia in the semi-finals, was relaxed about his team’s fortunes. “As long as we are fully prepared then it does not matter who we play because they are all good teams and it is simply what happens on the day,” he said. “One good innings or one good spell of bowling can win a match.”

Scorecard

Australia crushed India by an innings and four runs on the third day of the one-off Test at the Adelaide Oval. Lisa Sthalekar, the offspinner, set up the win with career-best figures of 5 for 30 as India folded for 153 to follow their first-innings 93.Australia bowled a suffocating line and delivered a total of 60 maidens as India scored at one-and-a-half runs an over. Resuming on 3 for 51, the visitors lost Devika Palshikar to Cathryn Fitzpatrick after adding only two runs before Rumeli Dhar and Sunetra Paranjpe offered some resistance in a stand of 51.Fitzpatrick accounted for Dhar, who top scored with 38, while Sthalekar took the wickets of Paranjpe and Jhulan Goswami. Shelley Nitschke interrupted Sthalekar by removing Amita Sharma, but she wrapped up the match by taking a return catch off Nooshin Al Khader for her fifth dismissal. Sthalekar was named Player of the Match for her all-round performance, which included 72 batting at No. 4 in Australia’s 250.Karen Rolton, the Australia captain, had the most economical figures and conceded only ten runs off her 12 overs while bagging the wickets of both openers. After the one-sided Test India will have only five days to recover for the three-match one-day series starting in Adelaide on Saturday.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

New Zealand clinched the series with an emphatic ten-wicket victory over West Indies in the second Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Bagging wickets at regular intervals, New Zealand’s bowlers turned in another impressive performance to dismiss the opposition for 215 on a truncated fourth day. Hamish Marshall and Jamie How then knocked off the 36 required runs to take their side to a fifth straight Test victory, a national record.Play began an hour late due to overnight and early morning rain, but matters looked much the same as the previous days, when New Zealand bowled with fire and to a plan and West Indies got stuck in a mess. Aggression got the better of Dwayne Bravo, who mistimed a hook shot off the nagging Chris Martin straight to Nathan Astle at square leg and New Zealand had made further inroads early into a session.Denesh Ramdin almost followed suit, sweeping Daniel Vettori and getting a top-edge that landed just wide of Astle running back from the same position. But after a stern word from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, he too buckled down and the duo went into snail mode. Hardly playing an aggressive shot, Chanderpaul and Ramdin inched their way to the final over before lunch, adding just 38 runs in an hour and a half as New Zealand maintained an attacking line. Singles were scant, doubles virtually non-existent and boundaries only taken when Chanderpaul decided to chance his arm – on three occasions. When it seemed like Ramdin had overcome his jitters – his second aggressive shot had been a confident flick off the legs for four – and would resume his defiant stand with his captain, he made the most basic of errors. Failing to get behind the line of a flighted Vettori delivery on leg stump, he could only look on as the ball spun across him and clipped the top of off stump.Two strikes to begin and close the first session, and New Zealand returned from lunch to make another. Chanderpaul, who had batted dourly to prolong certain defeat, fell shortly after the break when he played away from his body and gave Stephen Fleming his sixth catch at first slip off Kyle Mills. Mills then turned up the heat to nip out the tail as West Indies bettered their first-innings total, but just. Rawl Lewis stuck around for a belligerent 40 but could not do enough on his own to give New Zealand a good target to chase.For New Zealand, the stand-out factor in this innings – where every bowler picked up a wicket – as well as the match, was the professionalism of the bowlers in the absence of Shane Bond, the best in the country by far. Martin was spot on from where he left off yesterday and set the tone for proceedings in the day. Quick and accurate, he tied the batsmen down with his impressive line and got the breakthrough with Bravo’s wicket first thing in the morning and then added Ian Bradshaw later in the afternoon.

Vettori, brilliant with his control and loop and getting the ball to turn from sweet spots, tied Chanderpaul and Ramdin down – there were lbw appeals aplenty – and was rewarded for his parsimonious spell with Ramdin’s wicket. Vettori was padded away numerous times and each batsman had his share of play and misses to Martin and James Franklin, who added two more wickets to make it seven for the match. Mills, not given a bowl in the first session, did a good job of wrapping up the tail in both innings. Astle’s role with the ball was priceless, too. He bowled admirably, maintaining a wicket-to-wicket line and finishing with figures of 13-4-17-1 with the biggest wicket of them all, Brian Charles Lara.Rain, gloom or shine, West Indies have failed to battle it out when it matters. If they squandered a fantastic start to a run chase at Auckland last week, then here at Wellington they just failed to get off the blocks. They can look back at this match and see themselves as performing below par in every aspect of the game, but perhaps none more so than their batting. Only Runako Morton and Chris Gayle passed fifty, and apart from Chanderpaul’s stoic act today, no batsman looked capable of scoring runs and defending their wicket at the same time.The batting spanned many modes over the course of two innings: Lara, Ramdin and Bravo all succeeded in hitting themselves back into the pavilion at least once, Morton and Ramdin withdrew into a shell and fell to basic errors in the second innings, while for Daren Ganga and Chanderpaul it was a case of trying to trying to balance caution and aggression but letting themselves get bogged down by their partners’ fallibilities. Lara, with scores of 5, 0, 1 and 1 in the series, has fallen to a bad stroke one time too many and his indifference at the crease is a worry for a side desperately seeking a guiding hand. Barring a couple of inspired spells from Daren Powell and Fidel Edwards – the only fast bowler to achieve real pace and a hint of swing – the bowling has been pedestrian, while the fielding was a let down throughout the match.These are two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum. If this was New Zealand’s fifth straight win, and their ninth against this opposition, it was the eighth loss on the trot for West Indies, their worst in a glorious history of cricket. “To win a third match is definitely on, yes. It’s something we’re looking at, a 3-0 sweep,” said a pleased Fleming after the match. If time lost due to rain and bad light is not taken into consideration, this was a three-day Test, and the tourists’ current form and temperament does not bode well for them as the third Test at Napier follows later this week.How they were out
West Indies
Dwayne Bravo c Astle b Martin 7 (129 for 5)
Denesh Ramdin b Vettori 7 (156 for 6)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Fleming b Mills 36 (163 for 7)
Ian Bradshaw c Styris b Franklin 2 (189 for 8)
Daren Powell c How b Mills 7 (210 for 9)
Rawl Lewis c Astle b Mills 40 (215 for 10)

Lance Hamilton, Central Districts left-arm fast bowler, is on the verge of retiring from first-class cricket after being overlooked by selectors for two New Zealand A teams to tour Australia next month.Hamilton told www.stuff.co.nz, “I’ve got a month to make up my decision and I am tossing around the idea of perhaps just playing the one-dayers for Central but at the moment that’s only half an idea.”If I had made either of those New Zealand A teams I definitely would be playing next year because I’ve got a burning ambition to play more games for my country. But clearly that’s not going to happen now.”Hamilton, 33, will most likely leave the game to concentrate on his new career as a real estate agent in Napier. If he does, then his last game will be a memorable one; he took 6-34 to skittle Wellington on the final day of the State Championship final. It lifted his first-class wickets haul to 208 at an average of 25.34. Hamilton played two ODIs for New Zealand, both against Australia, in March 2005, but went for nearly eight runs per over in 18 overs with only the wicket of Simon Katich to show for it.”If the final is the end it was very fitting. The chances of replicating that next season are pretty slim. I’ve enjoyed my time on the field, but the time you spend away with Central Districts gets to me a bit.”Hamilton’s retirement could mean three leading players will be missing from Central Districts next season. Jarrod Englefield is off to the Netherlands for a year and Mathew Sinclair has indicated he will play in South Africa unless he gains a central contract.

A depleted Karachi Harbour didn’t do too badly on the opening day of their final round Pentangular Cup match against National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the Gaddafi Stdium. Karachi were dismissed for 249 and then bagged one NBP wicket before the end of the day.The Karachi side, lying at the bottom of the points table with three straight defeats, did well to reach a score of 215 for 3 after having been put in to bat. However, the last seven wickets fell for 34 runs. National Bank’s in-form fast bowler Wasim Khan again pulled a performance right out of the top drawer with figures of 6 for 57 in 27 overs. Mohammad Sami rattled the tail, taking 3 for 73 in 24.5 overs.Mohtashim Ali, the opener, top-scored for Karachi with 77 off 144 balls with 15 fours as he and Mansoor Baig added 84 runs for the second wicket. Mansoor hit 43 off 65 balls with seven fours.Mohtashim then got involved in a 60-run partnership for the third wicket with Afsar Nawaz. Afsar made 48 off 117 balls with six fours and found an able partner in Fawad Alam during a 60-run stand for the fourth wicket.Fawad reached 40 off 86 deliveries with four fours, but following his dismissal Karachi Harbour capitulated. Then it was the turn of NBP’s opener Salman Butt to fall cheaply yet again.NBP may still not find much difficulty in defeating Karachi Harbour eventually, a result that will also enable them to clinch the Pentangular Cup title. Even a draw with first-innings lead will give NBP the trophy.National Bank, looking to go beyond Faisalabad to snatch the Pentangular Cup title, have lost three leading players – Shahid Yousuf, Mansoor Amjad and Yasir Arafat – to the Pakistan A team now playing in Abu Dhabi in the EurAsia Cricket Series. But they have acquired the services of Kamran Akmal, the national wicketkeeper, to boost their chances.Sialkot scored 278 and reduced Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to 69 for 3 on the opening day of an inconsequential fifth-round match at Multan. Neither team is in the running for the eventual title, as PIA only have nine points while Sialkot have just six.Sialkot’s 278 would not have been possible had it not been for a blitz by their wicketkeeper Haafiz Khalid. He had to retire hurt early on and when he returned Sialkot were 192 for 9 having lost three wickets on the same score.In partnership with Adeel Malik, Khalid hammered 64 runs off 73 balls with eight fours as the last-wicket stand produced an incredible 86 runs. Adeel remained unbeaten on 61 off 73 balls with five fours and four sixes.Earlier, opener Haafiz Majid Jahangir had contributed 62 off 120 balls with seven fours, and put together a 98-run second-wicket stand with Inam-ul-Haq, whose 44 came off 65 deliveries with six boundaries.The PIA pace bowling duo was excellent, Najaf Shah picking up 5 for 54 and Fazl-e-Akbar 4 for 66. Ali Gohar’s medium-fast bowling went for 81 runs in nine overs.The PIA batting got rattled when it was their turn to bat. However, Faisal Iqbal, the captain who was returning from national duty in Abu Dhabi, is yet to bat.

Sanath Jayasuriya has said that he is optimistic that he will get a chance to play for Sri Lanka in England, despite being effectively ruled out of contention for the second Test after he was omitted from the side currently playing Sussex.Jayasuriya reversed his decision to retire last week and flew to England to join the squad during the Lord’s Test, but neither captain Mahela Jayawardene nor coach Tom Moody was consulted before the move, which was instigated by Asantha de Mel, the chairman of selectors. “I have no problem with the players or coach so returning was nothing serious,” Jayasuriya told Sky Sports.”It doesn’t rule me out because they are trying out a few players here. I’m just practising and getting settled down in England. We don’t know about the team. If I’m picked I always love to play for my country, if not I’ll have to sit out the game.”His presence alone is a sign of the power struggle between Moody and de Mel, and the fact that Jayasuriya was left out at Hove is an indication that Moody is winning.Moody, meanwhile, continued with his policy of looking to the future. “All we are concentrating on now is working very hard with a young and exciting squad in a transitional period,” he said. “As long as we are patient and show faith in these young players the future of Sri Lanka cricket is in good shape.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has issued summons to Jagmohan Dalmiya, its former president, following his failure to reply to a show cause notice. He will face a Disciplinary Committee headed by Sharad Pawar, the current BCCI president, and includes Shashank Manohar and Chirayu Amin.”Dalmiya has been asked to appear before the Disciplinary Committee on July 26 at one o’clock (afternoon) in New Delhi,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI Secretary said.The Board had issued a show cause notice to Dalmiya, asking him to furnish details of a transfer of Rs 40 crore (approx. US$85561498) from an Indian Overseas Bank account in Bhawanipur to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), of which he is the president, between 1996 to 2005. After Dalmiya failed to reply to the notice, the Board debited the amount to CAB and also decided to withhold all subsidies to it.Earlier, the Board had alleged misappropriation of the 1996 World Cup funds by Dalmiya and filed an FIR at a Mumbai police station a few months ago. The case was subsequently transferred to the Economic Offence Wing of the Mumbai Police who interrogated Dalmiya and two other colleagues when he was at the helm of Board’s affairs.